Winds came back out of the back with two cup-and-saucers in one hand, a small sugar bowl balanced on top of that, a little teapot in the other hand, and the book under one arm. She sat down the plateware and kettle gently next to Liam, taking the top set and some sugar and pouring tea for them both before retreating back to the corner. The teapot was left steaming somewhere between them.

Liam was about to respond to Smoke when Winds came back with the tea, providing a welcome distraction. He took advantage of it, and tried to think of a way to explain about Eve without hurting himself too much while he put sugar and milk in his tea.

How to explain it, though... and how much detail to go into? The details were the worst part. And arguably the most important, if he was going to make any progress in setting Eve free. He ran a hand over his face and sighed.

"It's complicated," he said at last. "I don't fully understand it myself. Someone tried to kill her -- I mean, they sort of did, they killed her body, but... her spirit's still here. Stuck in my head. I don't know how, I don't know why, but I know she's there. All we want is to get her out. That's why I came to Dunehelden in the first place."

Ezem turned to the wall of liquor and considered his options. He mixed while Liam spoke-- a base of lemon-lime soda, wild apple vodka, ginger liqueur, a bit of honey, fresh lemon juice, a slice of jalapeno, a touch of spiced white rum, a splash of gin and another of curacao, and a garnish of... what did he have here...

Mint. A garnish of mint. Ezem took a few minutes to craft the drink and poured it over ice, then slid the concoction in Smoke's direction.

Last edited by Odol Xhyl on Sat Nov 28, 2015 12:44 am; edited 1 time in total

Liam sighed and went to run a hand through his hair, then remembered he was wearing a towel. He lowered his hand as he answered Smoke. "Kind of awkward, kind of comforting, kind of scary. Mostly confusing."

/How is it scary?/ Eve piped up, sounding a bit hurt. /I know you were terrified at first, but I thought you were past thinking I'm a demon./

"Scary because I don't know if it'll be permanent, or what'll happen whether it is or not." He didn't bother keeping his voice down; the others would probably have asked him the same thing anyway.

Vincent's eyebrows rose as well, and he stared at Liam in awe, confusion and pity. He couldn't imagine how strange that would have been, seeing his sister dead and buried while her soul lingered in his mind. At least he was able to derive some comfort from it.

He shifted on his stool, looking intently at Liam. "I'm inclined to agree with Smoke, this is highly unusual. But if you're looking to find out the reasons or methods behind it, we might be able to help. Would you mind if I had a listen with my mage-sense? It could prove informative."

At Liam's nod, he focused his mage-sense, and his world filled with music. It took a while to filter out the ambient song of Lakeshore itself, and those of the other patrons (including himself), before he could really focus on Liam and Eve.

Liam's song was the stronger of the two, though it seemed the quieter and gentler. The lyrics spoke of a friendly personality, a passion for music and a deep familial love, but also fear and grief.

Eve's song was louder despite being mostly in the background, as if her very being was shouting to be heard. The love and musical passion in Liam's song were echoed in hers, and a bold, impatient personality.

And... there was a third theme, weaving in and out between them, tying the two together. Vincent's brow furrowed as he listened harder, trying to make sense of it. A necromantic ritual of some sort, the taking and moving of a chosen soul into another body... but the spell had gone wrong, somehow. He blinked and broke focus, sitting back as the music in his head faded.

"Well. That was certainly informative." He'd definitely have to have a good long think on this, and maybe another listen or two before he could fully puzzle it out.

"What did you hear?" Romi came out of the kitchens smelling of fresh herbs and broth, drying her hands on a dish towel that she then tucked into her back pocket. She joined Ezem behind the bar and leaned against the countertop, looking intently from Liam to Vincent. With the bar closed, it had been quiet enough for her to overhear most of the conversation as it happened.

She knew of, and had performed herself on few occasions, curses that let a person temporarily transpose their spirit into the mind of another. For reasons. But those spells were short-lived, and the spirit in question was tethered to its own living vessel-- provided the ritual was performed correctly and the connection twixt spirit and body held strong. There was always a chance for the tether to snap, or if the victim was able to force the spirit from their mind, it could get lost on its way back to the body. Or if the ritual itself was intentionally botched.

But these were, again, temporary curses. Usually lasting three days or less, or the span of some celestial body crossing from one horizon to the next if it was to be a repeated occurrence.

And Romi was disinclined to believe that Liam's sister would want to curse him.

She and Ezem exchanged a heavy glance. The Wakeling had assisted her with more than one of those curses. He would know what she was thinking.

Odol, however. He folded his arms on the countertop and rested his chin atop them, and looked from Romi to Ezem and back again. He turned his gaze towards Liam, and reached out to give his shoulder a squeeze.

Vincent took a moment to try and organize his thoughts. He looked at Romi as he explained what he'd heard, focusing mainly on the song concerning the ritual. Though he did see fit to confirm that yes, it was definitely Liam's sister in his head, not a demon or other spirit masquerading as such.

Liam quietly raised a hand to lay it on top of the one Odol placed on his shoulder, and kept his eyes on Professor Vincent during the explanation.

"So someone tried to steal her soul for some kind of spell," he murmured at last. "Do you have any idea how things went wrong? Or who might have done the spell? I can't think of anyone who'd want to do something like this..."

"I'd have to take another listen," said Vincent. "Preferably at some point when we're alone, so there's less interference from other people's songs. This is certainly a puzzle. But one I'm quite interested in helping to unravel."

Smoke was quiet for a couple of minutes while Vincent and the others talked. With his mind at the task and his senses sharpened from his "other business", the taste of death was apparent on Liam like thick frosting on a donut, similar, but for the moment seperate. The ghost of Liam's sister seemed to be attached quite securely to his body, mind in his mind, other parts in the appropriate places. Frankly, if it had been intentional, it was a beautiful job.

"She seems very attached to your body," he finally spoke. "I hope you two had a good relationship- have? Getting her back out of there with you both still among the living would be..." He tilted his head to the side, considering. "Well, I've never heard of it, but then I'm not an expert, yet. Assuming her body isn't sticking around in stasis somewhere? That would make things easier, for a relative value of easy."

Liam shook his head. "No, she -- her body -- is buried back in Tralee. And I don't fancy going back to dig her up, even if I could be sure of getting back at the right time and place to find her." He pulled the towel from his head and started to comb through his hair with his fingers. "We've always gotten on well, which is good. Honestly, the most awkward thing about this is the gender difference."

"Of course I do," said Liam. "We both do. But I don't really know where to start looking for things. All this magic stuff is new to us both. I don't know what's feasible or not to try. Eve wants a human body, but I dunno if you can just make one and shove her into it. Even if you could, say, clone her from a piece of her hair or something... the clone would probably have a soul of its own, wouldn't it? It wouldn't be her, just an identical twin of her."

His next thoughts were drowned in thunder, and panicked instinct took over. He dove for cover, curling up between the legs of his stool with his arms over his head and his eyes tight shut.

Romi leaned over the bar, brow furrowing even as Odol moved to free Liam.

"Oh... Oh, sweetpea..." She frowned and bit her lip.

As Odol worked the stool off of Liam, he looked at the seat and arched an eyebrow. "I mean, speaking of clones... we're in a place that's full of magic, after all. Does the clone have to be totally human tissue? Hell, there's a kid at school made of glass." He knelt down and rubbed Liam's back.

Liam flinched as someone touched him, but he relaxed once he opened his eyes and recognized Odol. He kept his eyes down as Odol worked the stool off him, his ears burning in embarrassment. His voice was hoarse when he answered.

"I dunno. Eve wants to be human, if that's at all possible... I know she wants to have kids someday. We talked about finding her a human-shaped body she could live in, like a homunculus, but she didn't like that." Odol might have noticed that too; Liam was sure it had been on the paper Odol had read in the library when he'd caught them chatting.

When Odol asked if Liam was okay, he swallowed and shook his head. He scrubbed a hand across his face as he stood up; the other clutched the cool metal of his locket. He sat back down on the stool and stared at the countertop, waiting for his heart rate to slow.

Vincent had risen to help free Liam from the stool, but Odol got there first. He moved to a stool closer to Liam's and reached out to squeeze the young man's shoulder in a comforting way. "Is there something else we can do for you?"

Liam took a deep breath and shrugged the shoulder Professor Vincent wasn't squeezing, not wanting to seem like he was shrugging him off. "I dunno. Should probably talk to someone about it, though... Professor Bolin does psych stuff, aye?"